Spoon constructions

ABSTRACT

A spoon construction is provided for the storage and dispensing of unit quantities of liquids or powders, such as medicants. The liquid or powder is received within a bowl portion, the bowl portion being sealed by a cover-piece removably affixed to the bowl. The spoon construction may be provided with a separate handle member adapted for removable engagement with the bowl member.

United States Patent [191 Ushkow et al.

[111 3,911,578 [451 Oct. 14, 1975 1 SPOON CONSTRUCTIONS [76] Inventors:Meyer Ushkow; David Elliott Ushkow, both of 75-04 196th Place, Flushing,NY. 11366 22 Filed: Feb. 5, 1974- 21 Appl. No.: 439,784

Related US. Application Data [60] Division of Ser. No. 251,989, May 10,1972, abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 852,287,Aug. 22, 1969, Pat. No. 3,662,463, which is a continuation-in-part ofSer. No. 793,522, Jan. 23, 1969, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl 30/326; 2l5/DIG. 5 [51] Int. Cl. A47J 43/28; GOIG 19/56 [58]Field of Search 30/326; 215/D1G. 5;

220/DIG. 14

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Fitzgerald 30/326 1,474,44311/ 1923 Rhyne 30/326 1,708,456 4/1929 Tunick 30/326 3,287,806 ll/1966Keller-man 30/326 Primary Examiner-A1 Lawrence Smith AssistantExa'm'iner.l. C. Peters Attorney, Agent, or FirmBlum Moscovitz Friedman& Kaplan [57] ABSTRACT A spoon construction is provided for the storageand dispensing of unit quantities of liquids or powders, such asmedicants. The liquid or powder is received within a bowl portion, thebowl portion being sealed by a cover-piece removably affixed to thebowl. The spoon construction may be provided with a separate handlemember adapted for removable engagement with the bowl member.

11 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 1 of 23,911,578

FIG. 3

SPOON CONSTRUCTIONS This is a divisional application of our co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 251,989, filed May 10, 1972, now abandoned, whichwas a continuation-in-part application of our application Ser. No.852,287, filed Aug. 22, 1969, now US. Pat. No. 3,662,463 which in turnwas a continuation-in-part of our application Ser. No. 793,522, filedJan. 23, 1969, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates specifically tospoons adapted for the marketing of measured amounts of liquid andpowder materials. More particularly, it is directed to spoons adapted tostore and dispense accurately measured amounts of such materials, as forexample, medicants. During the storage mode, such spoons would retainthe material in a sealed sterilized environment, the spoons beingreadily adapted for storage, vending from machines, and use as a meansfor dispensing the material.

The dispensing liquid and powdered medicants has posed a substantialproblem in the art. While many medicants are disposed in solid forms,such as pills, tablets or capsules, there are many persons, such as thevery young and the aged, who are unable to take such solid medicants.Further, there are many medicants which can only be dispensed in liquidor powdered form. In such cases, the medicine is generally dispensed inbottles containing bulk quantities and must be closed out be thespoonful, as prescribed. However, it must be borne in mind that aphysician considers a teaspoon to be cc, counting 30 cc to the ounce.Since there is no volumetric standard for a household spoon, and sincesuch household spoons are the general vehicle for dispensing liquidmedicants, accurate dispensing of liquid and powdered medicants in thehome become nearly impossible.

Afurtherfactor is that the transferring of bulk quantities of medicantsto individual dosage quantities requires the expenditure of time, which,in the case of hospital employees, could be better utilized elsewhere.For this reason, a spoon construction adapted to store and dispense unitdosages of liquid and powdered medicants would result in substantialincreases in efficiency and cost savings in hospitals where such deviceswere utilized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally speaking, in accordance with theinvention, a spoon construction is provided having a bowl portiondimensioned for at least partial receipt in a user's mouth and toreceive an accurately measured amount of a liquid or powder, said bowlportion being formed with an upstanding peripheral rim. A cover memberdimensioned to encompass said bowl portion rim is provided for retainingsaid liquid within said bowl portion and means are provided forreleasably engaging said cover member and bowl portion.

Said spoon construction may be formed with an elongated handle memberfor removable engagement with a handle-receiving portion projectinglaterally from said bowl portion.

The bowl portion may be provided with a top wall portion partiallyenclosing a portion of the region defined by said upstanding peripheralrim and formed integral therewith to define a cove within said bowlmember for retaining said liquid therein. Further, said bowl may beformed with a longitudinally extending wall extending between two spacedpoints on said rim and dividing the bowl into two compartments, saidcover member engaging against the upper surface of said longitudinallyextending wall to isolate the two compartments.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide spoon constructionpermitting the storage and dispensing of unit quantities of liquids orpowders.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of theinvention, reference is had to the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the spoon constructionaccording to the invention with portions broken away;

FIG. 2 is a partial view taken along lines 22 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of the spoonconstruction according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of a third embodiment of thespoon construction according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a fourth embodiment of a spoon constructionaccording to the invention;

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view taken along lines 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an exploded top plan view of a fifth embodiment of the spoonconstruction according to the invention with portions broken away;

FIG. 10 is a partial view taken along lines 10-10 of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view of a sixth spoon constructionembodiment according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. l-3, afirst embodiment of the spoon construction according to the invention isdepicted consisting of a bowl member 10 and a handle member 16. The bowlmember consists of an upstanding peripheral wall having a transversewall 12 partially covering a portion of the bowl to define a cove 14.The bowl member 10 is formed with a projecting handle engaging portion22 which projects from a point on the bowl member below the peripheralrim 18 thereof. While handle 16 may be formed integral with handleengaging portion 22, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the handle portion20 of handle member 16 is provided with a longitudinally extendingtongue 26 formed with longitudinally extending ribs 27. The end ofhandle engaging portion 22 is formed with a slot 24 havinglongitudinally extending grooves 29 for receiving said tongue and ribsfor releasably retaining the handle and bowl members together. It isapparent that the handle engaging portion 22 of spoon member 10 could beprovided with the tongue and/or the ribs if desired for mating with aslot and/or grooves on the handle member 16.

By providing a removable handle member, a single handle member may beprovided with a plurality of bowl members, the handle being reusablewhile each bowl member is discarded after use. Further, if desired, thebowl members may be provided with integral handles.

When filled with a desired quantity of liquid or powder, the spoonmember may be sealed by a suitable cover member, such as plastic sheet28, a suitable adhesive 34 being provided for maintaining the engagementbetween the cover and the peripheral rim 18 of the bowl member. Forconvenience in removal or stripping of cover 28 from the bowl, saidcover may be provided with a projecting flange 34 for grasping. Thecover may be formed of any desired material, transparent plastic beingpreferred.

The cove 14 defined by transverse wall 12 provides a useful cavity whichretains the contents within the bowl during the stripping of the covertherefrom.

A modified embodiment of the spoon construction according to theinvention is depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5, wherein a snap-fitinterengagement is provided between the cover 58 and the periphery 48 ofbowl member 40. As in the case of the embodiment of FIGS. l-3, the spoonconstruction is provided with a removable handle member 46 consisting ofa handle 50 having a projecting tongue 56 for cooperation with a slot 54in a handle engaging portion 52 of said bowl member. A cove 44- isdefined by a transverse wall 42. The peripheral rim 48 of bowl member 40is formed with an upstanding circumferential bead 62 for mating with acorresponding circumferential groove 64 in cover 58. The projecting edge66 of the cover provides means for grasping said cover for strippingfrom the bowl.

Still another alternate embodiment is depicted in FIG. 6, wherein theperipheral rim of the bowl member is formed with a channel 70 forreceiving a projecting circumferential bead 72 formed on the covermember. Still another embodiment is depicted in FIG. 11, wherein theupstanding rim 74 of bowl member 76 projects upwardly a predetermineddistance above the desired liquid or powder level, cover 78 beingprovided with a channel 80 for receiving the upstanding peripheral rim74. As in the earlier embodiments, a radial extending flange 82 isprovided for permitting removal of the cover.

Referring now to the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8, the spoon construction86 depicted is formed with an integral handle 88 projecting from a bowlportion 90 having a cover 92 secured thereto as described in FIG. 1. Theembodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8 does not include the transverse wall andcove of the embodiments of FIGS. 1-6. Also formed integrally with handle88 is a spring finger 94 positioned in an aperture 96 which projectsinto the region below a portion of cover 92. Spring finger 94 is fixedat one end 98 thereof to handle 88, the other end 100 thereof being freefor pivotable displacement and being in registration with cover 92. Bymanually displacing spring finger 94 in the upward direction, end 100thereof engages cover 92 to start the release thereof from bowl 90 topermit the rapid removal of the cover without rist of spilling thecontents of the spoon construction.

A further embodiment of the spoon construction according to theinvention incorporating a similar device for starting the removal of thecover is depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10. In said arrangement, the separatehandle member 102 is formed with a projecting tongue 104. Alongitudinally extending rib 106 is formed on the upper surface oftongue 104, the end of said rib being formed with an upwardly projectingfinger 108 having a curved leading edge 110. Bowl member 112 is formedwith a projecting handle engaging portion 114 having a lateralyextending slot 116 dimensioned to receive tongue 104 and alongitudinally extending slot 118 dimensioned to receive rib 106 andfinger 108. When handle member 102 is fully engaged in the handleengaging portion 1 14 of bowl member 112, the finger 108 displaces theend of cover 120 to expose said end to permit the removal of said cover.The curved leading edge of finger 108 insures that cover l20 isdisplaced upwardly, rather than being merely bent or otherwisedistorted.

The embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 10 is also provided with a longitudinallyextending vertical wall 122 dividing the bowl into two compartments 124and 126. Cover is divided into two separate portions 128 andrespectively covering compartments 126 and 124 so that the twocompartments may be separately exposed for the separate dispensing ofthe contents of each compartment. Each of the covers 128 and 130 engagesthe upstanding peripheral wall of the bowl as well as the top edge ofvertical wall 122.

The foregoing embodiments permit the storage and dispensing of liquidand powdered materials in a spoon construction which minimizes handlingof said materials as well as insuring dispensing of uniform quantitiesthereof. Further, the spoon construction can be sterilized afterclosure.

What is claimed is:

l. A spoon construction comprising a spoon member having a bowl portiondimensioned to receive an accurately measured amount of liquid or powderand formed with an upstanding peripheral rim and a handle portionprojecting from said bowl portion for manipulation of said spoon member;a cover member dimensioned to encompass said bowl portion rim forretaining said liquid or powder within said bowl portion; means forremovably securing said cover member to said bowl portion rim; and coverreleasing means on said spoon member having a free end for selectivedisplacement to a position at which a peripheral portion of said covermember is engaged by said free end to release only a portion of saidcover member from said bowl portion rim to define a tab formed by saidreleased cover member portion which can be manually manipulated tothereby effect removal of said cover member.

- 2. A spoon construction as recited in claim 1, said bowl portion beingformed with a top wall portion partially enclosing a portion of theregion defined by said upstanding peripheral rim and formed integraltherewith to define a cove within said bowl portion for retaining saidliquid therein; said top wall portion and cover releasing means beingpositioned on the side of said bowl portion in registration with saidhandle por tion.

3. A spoon construction as recited in claim 1, wherein said means forremovably connecting said cover member and said bowl portion includes anadhesive.

4. A spoon construction as recited in claim 1, wherein said handleportion projects from said bowl portion at a point on said bowl portionbelow said rim, said means for removably connecting said cover memberand said bowl portion including snap-fit interengagement means on saidbowl portion rim and said cover member, a first portion of saidinterengagement means being disposed on one of said bowl portion andcover member and adapted for penetration into and engagement by a secondportion of said interengagement means disposed on the other of said bowlportion and cover member.

5. A spoon construction as recited in claim 4, wherein said snap-fitinterengagement means includes a perimetric bead in said bowl portionrim and a correspondingly positioned groove in said cover member forsnap-fit interengagement with said bead.

6. A spoon construction as recited in claim 4, wherein said snap-fitinterengagement means includes a perimetric groove formed in said bowlportion rim, said cover member being formed with a correspondinglydimensioned bead for snap-fit interengagement with said groove.

7. A spoon construction as recited in claim 4, wherein said snap-fitinterengagement means includes said bowl portion rim being formed with aperimetrically folded-over portion, said cover being formed with agroove dimensioned for snap-fit interengagement with said perimetricallyfolded-over rim portion.

8. A spoon construction as recited in claim 1, wherein said bowl andhandle portions of said spoon member are formed of separate members,said bowl member being formed with a handle-receiving portion projectinglaterally from said bowl member; and including handle interengagementmeans on said bowl member handle-receiving portion and said handlemember for the releasable engagement of said bowl and handle members,said cover releasing means including a longitudinally extending slot inthe upper surface of said handle-receiving portion extending from theend thereof to below a portion of said cover member, said handle memberbeing formed with a rib on the upper surface thereof dimensioned forreceipt in said slot and for displacing said portion of said covermember from said peripheral rim when said handle member is joined tosaid bowl member.

9. A spoon construction as recited in claim 1, wherein saidcover-releasing means includes spring finger means formed in said handleportion and having a free end in registration with a portion of saidcover member for freeing said cover member portion from said bowlportion peripheral rim when engaged thereagainst to define a tab forgrasping to permit removal of said cover member from said bowl portion.

10. A spoon construction comprising a bowl member having a bowl portiondimensioned to receive an accurately measured amount of liquid or powderand formed with an upstanding peripheral rim and a handle receivingportion projecting from said bowl portion; a handle member formanipulation of said spoon member; handle interengagement means on saidbowl member handle-receiving portion and said handle member for thereleasable engagement of said bowl and handle members, a cover memberdimensioned to encompass said bowl portion rim for retaining said liquidor powder within said bowl portion; and means for removably securingsaid cover member to said bowl portion rim, said handle-receivingportion including a longitudinally extending slot in the upper surfacethereof extending from the end thereof to below a portion of said covermember, said handle member being formed with a rib on the upper surfacethereof dimensioned for receipt in said slot and for displacing saidportion of said cover member from said peripheral rim when said handlemember is joined to said bowl member.

11. A spoon construction comprising a spoon member having a bowl portiondimensioned to receive an accurately measured amount of liquid or powderand formed with an upstanding peripheral rim and a handle portionprojecting from said bowl portion for manipulation of said spoon member;a cover member dimensioned to encompass said bowl portion rim forretaining said liquid or powder within said bowl portion; spring fingermeans formed in said handle portion and having a free end inregistration with a portion of said cover member for freeing only aportion of said cover member from said bowl portion peripheral rim whenengaged thereagainst to define a tab for grasping to permit removal ofsaid cover member from said bowl portion by the manual manipulation ofsaid freed cover member portion; and means for removably securing saidcover member to said bowl portion rim.

1. A spoon construction comprising a spoon member having a bowl portiondimensioned to receive an accurately measured amount of liquid or powderand formed with an upstanding peripheral rim and a handle portionprojecting from said bowl portion for manipulation of said spoon member;a cover member dimensioned to encompass said bowl portion rim forretaining said liquid or powder within said bowl portion; means forremovably securing said cover member to said bowl portion rim; and coverreleasing means on said spoon member having a free end for selectivedisplacement to a position at which a peripheral portion of said covermember is engaged by said free end to release only a portion of saidcover member from said bowl portion rim to define a tab formed by saidreleased cover member portion which can be manually manipulated tothereby effect removal of said cover member.
 2. A spoon construction asrecited in claim 1, said bowl portion being formed with a top wallportion partially enclosing a portion of the region defined by saidupstanding peripheral rim and formed integral therewith to define a covewithin said bowl portion for retaining said liquid therein; said topwall portion and cover releasing means being positioned on the side ofsaid bowl portion in registration with said handle portion.
 3. A spoonconstruction as recited in claim 1, wherein said means for removablyconnecting said cover member and said bowl portion includes an adhesive.4. A spoon construction as recited in claim 1, wherein said handleportion projects from said bowl portion at a point on said bowl portionbelow said rim, said means for removably connecting said cover memberand said bowl portion including snap-fit interengagement means on saidbowl portion rim and said cover member, a first portion of saidinterengagement means being disposed on one of said bowl portion andcover member and adapted for penetration into and engagement by a secondportion of said interengagement means disposed on the other of said bowlportion and cover member.
 5. A spoon construction as recited in claim 4,wherein said snap-fit interengagement means includes a perimetric beadin said bowl portion rim and a correspondingly positioned groove in saidcover member for snap-fit interengagement with said bead.
 6. A spoonconstruction as recited in claim 4, wherein said snap-fitinterengagement means includes a perimetric groove formed in said bowlportion rim, said cover member being formed with a correspondinglydimensioned bead for snap-fit interengagement with said groove.
 7. Aspoon construction as recited in claim 4, wherein said snap-fitinterengagement means includes said bowl portion rim being formed with aperimetrically folded-over portion, said cover being formed with agroove dimensioned for snap-fit interengagement with said perimetricallyfolded-over rim portion.
 8. A spoon construction as recited in claim 1,wherein said bowl and handle portions of said spoon member are formed ofseparate members, said bowl member being formed with a handle-receivingportion projecting laterally from said bowl member; and including handleinterengagement means on said bowl member handle-receiving portion andsaid handle member for the releasable engagement of said bowl and handlemembers, said cover releasing means including a longitudinally extendingslot in the upper surface of said handle-receiving portion extendingfrom the end thereof to below a portion of said cover member, saidhandle member being formed with a rib on the upper surface thereofdimensioned for receipt in said slot and for displacing said portion ofsaid cover member from said peripheral rim when said handle member isjoined to said bowl member.
 9. A spoon construction as recited in claim1, wherein said cover-releasing means includes spring finger meansformed in said handle portion and having a free end in registration witha portion of said cover member for freeing said cover member portionfrom said bowl portion peripheral rim when engaged thereagainst todefine a tab for grasping to permit removal of said cover member fromsaid bowl portion.
 10. A spoon construction comprising a bowl memberhaving a bowl portion dimensioned to receive an accurately measuredamount of liquid or powder and formed with an upstanding peripheral rimand a handle receiving portion projecting from said bowl portion; ahandle member for manipulation of said spoon member; handleinterengagement means on said bowl member handle-receiving portion andsaid handle member for the releasable engagement of said bowl and handlemembers, a cover member dimensioned to encompass said bowl portion rimfor retaining said liquid or powder within said bowl portion; and meansfor removably securing said cover member to said bowl portion rim, saidhandle-receiving portion including a longitudinally extending slot inthe upper surface thereof extending from the end thereof to below aportion of said cover member, said handle member being formed with a ribon the upper surface thereof dimensioned for receipt in said slot andfor displacing said portion of said cover member from said peripheralrim when said handle member is joined to said bowl member.
 11. A spoonconstruction comprising a spoon member having a bowl portion dimensionedto receive an accurately measured amount of liquid or powder and formedwith an upstanding peripheral rim and a handle portion projecting fromsaid bowl portion for manipulation of said spoon member; a cover memberdimensioned to encompass said bowl portion rim for retaining said liquidor powder within said bowl portion; spring finger means formed in saidhandle portion and having a free end in registration with a portion ofsaid cover member for freeing only a portion of said cover member fromsaid bowl portion peripheral rim when engaged thereagainst to define atab for grasping to permit removal of said cover member from said bowlportion by the manual manipulation of said freed cover member portion;and means for removably securing said cover member to said bowl portionrim.